Animals are a major road hazard but obviously in varying degrees. A toad crossing the road will barely register as you flatten it, but a horse weighing nearly half a ton will most certainly flatten you.

You need to be most vigilant if you’re on the roads just before dawn as this is when most  rabbits and hedgehogs come out to play.  Whilst the natural reaction is to swerve and try to miss them, be sure the road is clear before you do. If you run over the poor little creature in the time it takes to check that you won’t implant yourself in a truck when you swerve, then so be it. Amazingly you can (not that you’d want to) run over even large rabbits without unsettling the bike.

NEVER try to estimate what a scared animal is about to do – they are just too stupid and unpredictable.  Don’t expect a sheep to be able to work out what to do as you hurtle towards it.  It MIGHT freeze, but then again it might not.  It is usually better to concentrate on braking hard and thereby taking off as much speed as possible prior to impact.  Don’t forget that hard braking and steering do not mix well on motorcycles – even ones with ABS.  If you mix the two expect to hit the deck!

Birds are a real problem as the airflow around a bike will often not be enough to divert them as it does with a car. Most birds will crack a fairing if they hit it, but if they hit you at 70 mph they will cause you serious injury. A large bird in the face is almost certainly going to result in hospital care.

If you are unlucky enough to be chased by a dog, do not, whatever you do, try to kick it.  You will almost certainly unsteady the bike, and probably end up presenting the dog with a convenient mouthful of overtrouser to hang onto.  If you do manage to connect with the dog you may then have an angry owner to contend with as well!

Horses for some reason seem to be more scared of bikes than of cars – even if you have a quiet exhaust.   Horses are always anxious about the unfamiliar, and it is little wonder that brightly coloured riders and bikes make them jumpy.  The safest bet is to slow right down and pull in the clutch so that you make little noise and go slowly past them. Let the clutch out gently again as you pull away so that you don’t roar off and panic the horse just as your mate pulls past too!  Even if you are passing with several feet to spare, be cautious.  The Horse might spook at something you cannot see and jump into your path.  Don’t relax until you are well under way.

Finally, on the subject of animals, remember that in the country farmers often need to move cows and sheep from field to field across the roads. Every corner could conceal a herd in your path or almost as bad, three tons of mud and muck, which despite laws to the contrary, many farmers fail to clean up.

The law which requires that we display reasonable consideration to other road users only applies to humans – but why not display the same level of courtesy to our four legged friends, especially as they can cause such harm to you and your bike when things go wrong?

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